Behavioral & Community Health
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2271
Prior to January 24, 2011, this unit was named the Department of Public & Community Health.
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Item Resting Metabolic Rates in Child-Onset and Adult Obese Women(1989) Summerfield, Liane M.; Gold, Robert; Health Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)This study investigated differences in resting metabolic rate (RMR) between obese nonobese females and between females with adult and childhood onset of obesity. Subjects were 18 healthy, Caucasian women, ages 20-38 (M=28.16), 6 from each of 3 groups: nonobese with no history of obesity (M-18.53% fat), child-onset obese (COO) (M=41.00% fat), and adult-onset obese (AOO) (M=37.8% fat). Subjects were nonsmokers, weight-stable for at least 3 months prior to the study, and not following a low-calorie diet. All obese subjects had lower-body obesity (waist/hip girth ratio < .80). Subjects underwent three measures: RMR by indirect calorimetry, residual lung volume, and hydrostatic weighing. In addition, a questionnaire elicited information about weight history, educational level, occupation, frequency of exercise, and activity level. When data from the 12 obese subjects were combined, RMR per kg body weight (RMR/BW) was significantly lower in the obese (18.47 kcal/kg/day) than the nonobese (22.94 kcal/kg/day). The obese subjects also had significantly lower RMR per kg fat mass (RMR/FM) than the nonobese. When data from COO and AOO subjects were analyzed separately, COO were found to have significantly lower RMR/FM than the nonobese. COO and AOO subjects did not differ statistically in absolute RMR, RMR/BW, RMR/FM, or RMR/FFM, although COO had lower values on all measures. Multiple regression analysis indicated that, in all groups, more of the variance in RMR was explained when the variables, FM and FFM. However, the effect of activity and exercise on explained variance in RMR was much smaller in COO women.Item A Confirmatory Study on the Motivational Orientations of Older Adults Involved in Formal Education at the University of Maryland(1988) McMahon, Megan Catherine; Riddick, Carol Cutler; Behavioral & Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The purpose of this study was two-fold. One objective was to confirm Pritchard's (1978) typology of older adults' motives for education participation. Another purpose was to examine the influence that selected demographic variables (age, gender, socioeconomic status, and marital status) had on motivations of older students to participate in the "Golden Identification" (Golden I.D.) Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. The sample consisted of 160 participants from the Golden I.D. Program who were selected through a systematic probability sampling procedure. A mailed questionnaire comprised of three instruments was used for conducting this research. The first part of the questionnaire measured motivational orientations for participation in education by older adults and consisted of the Education Participation Scale for Older Adults and the Older Learner Participation Scale. The third instrument measured demographic characteristics of the study participants. The results revealed that the motivation of the Golden I.D. students to participate in education can be divided into the following six factors (in decreasing order of importance): "cognitive interest," "self actualization," "adaptation/self-understanding," "social contact," "social contribution," and "escape/stimulation . " Furthermore, significant relationships emerged between the socioeconomic status of the participant, and the motives "social contribution," "escape/stimulation," and "self actualization." The implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.Item AIDS AND THE COLLEGE STUDENT: KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, AND INFORMATION SEEKING(1989) Shelnutt, Emily Houston; Beck, Kenneth H.; Behavioral & Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)A questionnaire on knowledge, beliefs, and information-seeking behavior about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was administered to a total of 1,300 university students, and 1,001 were completed and returned. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between college students' knowledge and beliefs about AIDS and their information-seeking behavior about AIDS. Students were found to be knowledgeable about the disease, but the majority (50.5%) were not worried about contracting AIDS. The findings revealed that students who are more knowledgeable about AIDS seek more information than those less knowledgeable about AIDS. It was also found that students who feel more highly susceptible to AIDS are more likely to seek information about the disease. The primary sources of student information on AIDS were television, newspapers, magazines, and radio; however, doctors and health-care professionals were considered the most trust-worthy sources of AIDS information. The data suggest that medically supported information on AIDS should be provided to college students by health educators via the popular media sources.Item The Relative Efficacy of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, EMC Biofeedback and Music for Reducing Stress Arousal of Internally Vs. Externally Controlled Individuals(1978) Prager-Decker, Iris J.; Girdano, Daniel; Behavioral & Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The purpose of this study was to test the relative efficacy of four relaxation techniques (music listening skills, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), EMG biofeedback and EMG facilitated PMR) in reducing tension levels of internally or externally controlled individuals who were experimentally exposed to a psychosocial stressor. The study utilized 81 college aged males randomly assigned to one of four relaxation training groups or to a control group based on their locus of control - (Rotter's I-E Scale). EMG pre-training baseline measurements were taken via an ASI A1700 and all training groups were given seven 20 minute relaxation training sessions. Three days later each subject was exposed to the six repetitions of a 92 second segment of It Didn't Have to Happen (an industrial accident film). Baseline EMG levels were obtained prior to and following the exposure to the stressor. Data was also collected during the six repetitions. STAI (state) and MAACL (today form) were administered before, after the second exposure to the film and following the post stressor relaxation period. The results of the statistical analyses indicated that the film was able to elevate EMG levels, that biofeedback training produced significantly lower EMG levels during a resting period than music or PMR training, that externally controlled subjects trained with biofeedback reduced their resting EMC levels more than their internal counterparts, that externally controlled individuals trained with biofeedback reduced their EMG levels at a faster rate than internals and that initial muscle tension during exposure to the stressor seemed to be uneffected by the type of relaxation training the subject received or whether he received training at all.